THE BUILDER APRIL 1929

Freemasonry in Czechoslovakia

By BRO. JOSEPH S. ROUCEK, New York
(Concluded from March)

WHEN it was evident that Austria would fall, fifteen Czech Masons
met in a private house in Prague, No. 23 Kralodvorska ul., on Oct.
26, 1918, and at this meeting it was decided to form a Czech Lodge.
This happened just two days before the fall of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, which came sooner even than had been expected. Thus
Czechoslovak independence was proclaimed two days after this
decision to create an independent Czechoslovak Masonry.

One of the principal reasons for the founding of a new Lodge was
precisely to create a Masonic center which would not be dependent
on the Grand Lodge of Hungary. In this there is evident a semi-
political, or at least a national, tendency, which is easily
explicable if we recall the difficulties that Czechoslovaks
experienced with the Hungarians before and after the war. Besides
this, there was a sincere desire to have a closer Masonic relation
with the Yugoslavs and the Poles. Thus, first of all, there was a
need to establish a lodge under the auspices of a Grand Lodge
situated in a friendly country.

The majority of the brothers who met on Oct. 26, eleven to be
exact, belonged to Hiram Zu Den Drei Sternen Lodge, Orient of
Pressburg; two belonged to the French jurisdiction, viz., to Les
Inseparables du Progress Lodge and La Justice Lodge, both of the
Grand Orient of France. Among them were members who in 1927 had
worn the Masonic Apron for thirty years, and one even for thirty-
five years.

The necessary preparations and the work on rituals took several
months. It was not until on May 12, 1919, that seven Master Masons
of Hiram Zu Den Drei Sternen Lodge voted unanimously to create a
temporary Czechoslovak Lodge, named Jan Amos Komensky, under the
protection of the Grand Orient of France. The light was brought to
the Lodge on Sept. 28, 1919, from the Grand Orient of France by
Bro. Besnard, 33d.

Italian Masons also showed their interest in Czechoslovakia. Their
emissaries founded meanwhile the Lodge Narod [Nation] on June 20,
1920, the "28 Rijen" [28th of October] Lodge on Oct. 20, 1920, and
Dilo [Work] Lodge on Nov. 5, 1920.

Thus it is evident that the evolution of Czechoslovak Masonry took
two independent roads. One of them was represented by Jan Amos
Komensky Lodge, which was under French jurisdiction, and the other
by the group formed by Narod Lodge together with "28 Rijen" and
Dilo, under Italian jurisdiction. Between these two jurisdictions
there was no organic connection, and it is pretty safe to say that
some mistrust and prejudice existed between them. However, the
efforts of individuals working for a rapprochement were successful.
The greatest part of the credit goes probably to Bro. Alfons Mucha.
A great impetus to the project was given when the news leaked out
that German Masons in Czechoslovak territory were ready to form a
German Grand Lodge. The consideration of this information led to a
lengthy debate in Komensky Lodge on Nov. 21, 1922. The discussion
lasted far into the night, and finally it was decided to allow
three brothers to visit "28 Rijen" Lodge. The visit took place on
Nov. 22, 1922. The three ambassadors received a very cordial
welcome and the speeches that followed foreshadowed the desired
agreement. The result was the union of French and Italian rites
into one Czechoslovak organization.

Meanwhile it was felt to be important to create a Supreme Council
of the Scottish Rite for the country. When Czechoslovak Masons
discovered that the Grand Orient of France was not of the Scottish
Rite, they asked to be released from its jurisdiction, and
succeeded in obtaining this demission. On May 16, 1922, Jan Amos
Komensky Lodge declared itself independent and on June 14, 1922, it
was officially released from French jurisdiction. The Supreme
Council of Switzerland received favorably the petition for a new
authority of the Scottish Rite, and sanctioned the formation of the
Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite in Czechoslovakia on May 8,
1922, which action was officially approved by the Scottish Rite
Congress at Lausanne on June 8, 1922.

The formation of the Czechoslovak Grand Lodge came about as a
result of the discussion in Jan Amos Komensky Lodge on Nov. 14,
1922. The Supreme Council paved the way for its formation which was
realized on Feb. 25, 1923. The "Light was brought" from the Grand
Orient of Jugoslavia on May 18, the following year. The Grand
Lodge, however, is entirely independent of the Supreme Council, and
has complete control of the symbolic degrees

Czechoslovak Masonic literature is so far very scarce, which is
only natural under the circumstances. The first book to be
published was The Masonic Symbols by R. J. Vonka. In this the
author proves that all Masonic symbols can be found in the
philosophy of Comenius, who belongs among the spiritual fathers of
Freemasonry. Other works are in preparation; Comedies as a Founder
of Modern Masonry, by the same author, and A History o f Bohemian
Masonry, by Dr. Joseph Volf, Past Master of Jan Amos Komensky Lodge
at Prague. A regular Czech Masonic magazine is published, as well
as a German Masonic magazine ( Quatuor Coronati. Coetus Pragense)

SOME PROMINENT CZECHOSLOVAK MASONS

The popular prejudice against Freemasonry, which has been
previously spoken of, does not permit me to write about every
prominent Czechoslovak Mason. The second strongest political group
in Czechoslovakia is the Catholic party. With all the advantages of
property, prestige, press and church organization it can readily be
realized that Roman Catholicism still exercises a wide influence
over the life of the nation. It must not be forgotten that it was
the only church having the official right of entry into all the
schools, which are public institutions, and it had its religious
teachers paid, not out of the funds of the Roman Catholic Church,
but from those of the state. Also every parish had, and still has,
its Roman Catholic spiritual administrators supported by the state.
The enormous wealth of the church makes it possible for the Roman
Catholics to maintain their many-sided press and to publish a
number of papers journals and books for propaganda purposes.
Besides their clergy they support a number of agitators, whose
activity ranges over political rather than purely religious
questions. And this activity is decidedly antiMasonic. Hence it is
only natural that various prominent men in public life might be
seriously embarrassed should their names be revealed publicly as
members of the Fraternity.

Among those who founded the first Czechoslovak Lodge on Oct. 26,
1918 was a member of the National Revolutionary Committee which
proclaimed Czechoslovak independence and created the Czechoslovak
State, the eminent writer, poet, and dramatist, Jaroslav Kvapil. He
was elected to be the first Master of the Lodge. Kvapil was a
member of a German Lodge in Prague whose members before the
revolution traveled to Bratislava to attend the ritual work of the
Magyar Lodge there.

Dr. Rasin became the first Czechoslovak Minister of Finance. He was
also a member of the National Revolutionary Committee. His
financial genius enabled him to stabilize the Czechoslovak
currency, the first state of Central Europe to do so; his
accomplishment has been imitated by all Central European States.
His book on the subject, Financial Policy of Czechoslovakia During
the First Year of Its History has been recently published by the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

One of the eminent Masons, and the present Sovereign Grand
Commander of the Supreme Council of Masons of Czechoslovakia, is
the great artist, possibly the greatest living Slavic artist, M. W.
Alfons Mucha, 33d, renowned the world over, and especially known in
America for his decoration of the Metropolitan Opera House in New
York City. He has recently added to his fame by the completion of
his great life work, "The Epic of Slavic History," a series of
twenty enormous paintings in which are depicted the most decisive
events in the history of the Slavs. This great artistic achievement
was made possible by Charles R. Crane, whose son was the first
American minister to Czechoslovakia, and whose daughter is married
to a son of President Masaryk, Bro. John Masaryk, now Czechoslovak
Minister to England.

Mucha was initiated in Paris. His fame was made when Sara Bernhardt
noticed his work. Mucha's Slavonic Epopejs are his gift to the city
of Prague and to Czechoslovakia, with the wish that they be held in
trust for all nations of Slavic blood. Not only the outstanding
incidents in the history of his native land have been depicted by
the artist, but also important moments in the life story of other
Slavic lands, such as Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Poland. For this
reason it is expected that the paintings, after they have been hung
in some permanent place of exhibition at Prague, the Czechoslovak
capital, will attract thousands of visitors from the Slavic
countries of Eastern and Southern Europe, for whom such a visit
will be in the nature of a pilgrimage to a sacred historical
shrine.

There are other, equally, if not more famous men, who are Masons,
among them one of the makers of Czechoslovakia, whose names cannot
be mentioned without trespassing beyond the limits of discretion.
However, to enable visiting Masons to get in touch with these men,
and the lodges, the address of the Foreign Secretary is: Mr. L.
Schwarz, Vinohradska 24, Prague XVI, Czechoslovakia.

MASONIC PROBLEMS IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA

The greatest problem of the Czechoslovak Masons is to get their own
temples. The difficulty lies in the fact that the Czechoslovak
crown is depreciated to one-sixth of the value of the Austrian
crown before the War. But conditions have improved, and
international relations are amicable with all nations except,
probably, Hungary. At the present scale of prices it would be
necessary for every Czechoslovak-speaking brother to pay 5,000
crowns (about $152.00) in cash, should they decide to build their
own temple. This sum represents the monthly salary of a
Czechoslovak cabinet minister. The lodge rooms should inspire one
as "Masonic Temples." The Temple is a sacred enclosure, a plot of
ground marked off to be a holy place. I have visited all the
Czechoslovak Lodges and I am very sorry to say that their places of
meeting do not represent the ordinary requirements, with the
exception of the Bratislava Temple. But this is not due to the
negligence of the brothers. It is due to the general economic
situation which does not permit the spending of the money that
would be necessary for such a purpose. When I compared the huge
sums spent in America by lodges and Grand Lodges and the
comparatively insignificant sum needed to build a Masonic Temple in
Czechoslovakia, I felt that a great could be done if only in the
form of a loan.

Personally speaking, it seems to me that the problem before the
Czechoslovakian Masons is not peculiar to them but applies to the
Masonry in Continental Europe in general. The membership is made up
largely of intellectuals, men of scholastic and artistic castes,
who have very limited, if any, social contacts with the ordinary
man. Farmers, small shopkeepers, clerks and day laborers either are
not wanted, or when admitted find themselves ill at ease in the
lodges. Professional men, artists, men of social idealism, find in
the lodge, recreation, comfort, inspiration, and an outlet for
their philanthropic zeal. All this is good. But something is
lacking. And that lack keeps Masonry from realizing its full
purpose. This can be accomplished only where sincere men of all
walks of life can meet together and work together as a band of
brothers and carry with them, each into his own social circle
outside of the lodge, the moral and philanthropic impressions
received within the lodge.

When it comes to seriousness of purpose, solicitude for the
reputation of the Craft, willingness to serve the brotherhood, and
a firm insistence that every man shall exemplify in his life the
virtues that mark a true Mason, we have much to learn from the
lodges over there. When it comes to making that which Masonry has
to offer accessible to all men who, with moral worth, sincerity,
kindness of heart and a tolerant spirit, combine willingness and
capacity to serve their fellowmen, the lodges over there have much
to learn of us.

The outside public can know but little, if anything, of the
workings of our lodges. But all can form an opinion from the
exemplars of Freemasonry, the men whom they know to be Masons and
whose conduct they can observe. Where opportunities of contact and
experience in dealing with Masons are scanty or lacking altogether,
mendacious trouble-makers have no difficulty in propagating
suspicion and hostility against the brotherhood. On the other hand,
it is a question whether the Czechoslovak Masons can combat this
situation, especially when we realize that the Roman Church is
still very strong in Czechoslovakia. According to the first
religious census of 1921, about 71 per cent of the population still
describe themselves as Roman Catholics. Hence this problem will
remain for many years to come, if there is any solution to it at
all, as far as Czechoslovakia is concerned.

There are three things which are emphasized in America as essential
in Masonry, according to Ossian Lang, Grand Historian of the Grand
Lodge of New York. In his recent report, "Freemasonry Under Fire in
Continental Europe," he makes the following statements:

1. Freemasonry teaches and seeks to realize the Brotherhood of Man
on the firm foundation of belief in the Universal Fatherhood of
God.

2. In every country Freemasons are required to be loyal to the
government by law established, true to their nation and helpful to
the common good.

3. Freemasonry will not tolerate religious disputes and is resolved
against all polities, as was never yet conducive to the welfare of
the lodge, nor ever will.

The Czechoslovak Mason may be credited with the first and the third
points, though I have a suspicion that "all politics" are not
entirely excluded. However, this doubt applies to all Continental
Masonry, as I know from personal experience.

Regarding the second point, much more can be said on the positive
side. To my mind the observance of the rule brought the greatest
gain and good to the country as well as to Masonry. A little
discussion of it may well serve as a concluding chapter.

THE GREATEST ASSETS OF CZECHOSLOVAK MASONRY

In order to understand this discussion it is necessary to recall
briefly the history of that "coat of many colors," the Austro-
Hungarian Empire. What is now Czechoslovakia was included before
the War in the international political system based on the
suppression of nations or on the method of ruling over small
nations by a few big nations. From the earliest times the
Czechoslovaks had to struggle for their life against their
neighbors, especially against the Germans and the Magyars. Today
the Germans and the Hungarians represent the minorities of
Czechoslovakia. One would expect that the day of reckoning would
repeat the old hatreds and increase the acts of revenge. On the
other hand, the same old spirit never expected to accept the new
political and national situation. It is one of the greatest
international problems that problem of minorities, which the League
of Nations was charged to cope with, if possible (2). In other
words, there are a number of legal provisions which are supposed to
take care of the situation. Unfortunately, the problem is primarily
psychological and social, and not legal. Its solution depends more
upon the behavior and psychology of each individual rather than on
legal forms.

The behavior of the Czechoslovak Masonic Lodges happily presents a
solution. Here is a splendid spirit of cooperation among the
lodges. The German and Czech Lodges visit one another and exchange
speakers. The Czechs speak German in German Lodges and the Germans
speak Czech in the Czech Lodges. In Bratislava the Slovak Lodge is
the regular guest of the Magyar Temple. I am lucky to say that I
visited one meeting in Plzen when all the Czechoslovak and German
Lodges met and the spirit of brotherhood was most touching. Here is
a spirit and an influence of vital moment in Masonry, as well as in
international political relations, a factor which may yet play a
very important part in the solving of problems of international
importance in Europe. Here the ideals of international brotherhood,
tried out on a small scale, are making good.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion I should like to mention that every Czechoslovak
Mason seems to be vitally and intensely interested in American
Masonry. Just the opposite is the fact as far as the American Mason
is concerned. My lectures and visits to many lodges of this land
convince me of this fact. But the Czechoslovak Mason convinced me
of his sincere interest and desire to receive the attention of
American Masonry. The reason for interest my be easily deducted
from what has been said earlier.

I was the recipient of a great number of requests for literature
and personal advice of how American Masons might be approached. I
approached many of them without getting any response at all. But we
as Masons should realize that over there are our Brother Masons,
not only Czechoslovaks but also others of other nationalities, who
are most anxious to strengthen the fraternal ties between the
Masonry of their country and that of America. It is up to the
brethren here to respond.

NOTES

(1) The Czechoslovak National Grand Lodge was organized as a
separate and sovereign body entirely free from any dependence on
any other organization. It adheres to the Ancient Landmarks,
requires a belief in God from its members and the Holy Bible is one
of its three Great Lights.

There is also a Grand Lodge with concurrent jurisdiction so far as
territory is concerned, working in the German language. This is
also sovereign and independent and professes the same principles
and conforms to the same customs as all regular Grand Lodges. Its
official title is Gross Lodge "Lessing zu den drei Ringen."

(2) Those desiring to know more of these difficult problems may be
referred to the author's works: The Minority Principle as a Problem
of Political Science and The Working of the Minorities Treaties
Within the League of Nations, both published by the Orbis
Publishing co.

